The Scientific Method
by Minnowfairy
Summary: Perry the Platypus wakes up in an unfamiliar facility with various injuries and no idea how he got them. Apart from the fact that he was on a mission with some friends, he can't remember what happened. He teams up with the facility's staff in order to find the rest of his friends, discover what really happened on the mission, and defeat the force who attacked them.
1. Chapter 1

_"_ _His fever seems to be going down. He still seems to be short of breath but at least his heartrate is slowing back to its normal rhythm."_

 **"** **Is he gonna wake up anytime soon?"**

 _"_ _I don't know. Whatever chemicals he was exposed to really did a number on him."_

 **"** **Are you sure it's a chemical?"**

 _"_ _I know a chemical when I smell it, idiot! There's definitely some acid residue on his fur. That's what caused the burn on his arm."_

 **"** **Ohh, okay. You know, you're a really good doctor."**

 _"_ _I'm NOT a doctor! I'm a chemist."_

He groaned as his brain finally rebooted and his eyes flickered open. Immediately, something in his throat caused him to start violently coughing. He felt a paw behind his back, keeping him tipped forward to help him clear his throat.

After a minute or so, his coughing finally ceased and his body settled. He lay back in the bed, finding two new pillows propping him up. He reached up with one of his paws and found it in a bandage, so he lowered it again.

"Do you need some water or something?" asked one of the voices he had heard earlier, the one who had said she was a chemist, not a doctor. "Are you feeling dehydrated?"

Perry managed to shake his head, clearing his already-sore throat to try and speak. "Where am I?"

He was surprised to find that his voice was fairly strong. Not as strong as it was, of course, but not as weak as he thought it was going to be.

"You're at a research facility," said the other voice, this one male. "Deep in Danville Forest."

"In other words, you're safe from whatever hit you," the female voice said.

Perry focused his vision to see who the voices were attached to, and he saw two animals in front of him. One was a brownish dog, maybe a Toller, and the other was a black cat with white paws. They seemed like an odd pair to be running a research facility in the middle of nowhere.

"Can you remember your name?" the female cat asked.

The platypus nodded. "I'm Perry."

"I'm Buddy," the dog said, his tongue hanging out excitedly. "That's Socks. Are you a beaver or a duck?"

"Neither," Perry said resignedly. "I'm a platypus."

"Are you a pet of some kind?" Socks asked.

Perry nodded. "I'm a pet, yeah. Are you two?"

Socks scowled and looked away. Buddy shuffled closer to the bed. "We used to be. But now we run this place."

"What IS this place, exactly?" Perry asked. "You said it was a facility."

"It is," Socks explained. "It's a research facility. We run it."

"What kind of research do you do here?" Perry inquired.

"Scientific," replied Buddy, grinning. "She's a chemist, I'm a computer."

"Computer programmer," sighed Socks, rolling her eyes. "I've told you so many times, Bud: a computer is the thing you work on, a computer programmer is the thing you ARE."

"Oh, right."

Socks sighed again and turned to Perry. "I'm a chemist and a physicist. He's a computer scientist. Sometimes people send us samples and stuff that they need analysed, or give us the names of computer accounts that they need hacked, or ask us to retrieve some information from a wiped computer memory. With every case we get given, we get a little more research."

"I'm trying to build my own computer!" Buddy burst out excitedly.

"And I'm trying to figure out a new element I discovered," Socks added. "Those are our two current goals."

"That's…ambitious." Perry frowned. "Is it just the two of you here?"

"Before we say anything else, I think we should ask YOU some questions," Socks said, narrowing her amber eyes. "Where did you come from? And what happened?"

Perry winced as he shifted his hurt arm. "I can't answer the second question because I don't remember. What I CAN say is that I'm from an animal organisation based in Danville that fights evil on a regular basis."

"Organisation?" Buddy's eyes darted to Socks. "What was that organisation she worked for?"

"O.W.C.A.," replied Socks slowly. "Are you from O.W.C.A., Perry?"

Perry nodded slowly. "That's…right. How do you know about O.W.C.A.?"

"The cat who gave us this place worked for O.W.C.A.," Socks explained. "She told us just before she left. She still often visits us, and she's the one who gives us the most work."

Perry's eyebrows rose curiously. An O.W.C.A. agent? That raised a lot of questions. How had the agent come by this place? Had she founded it? Why had she simply handed it over to Buddy and Socks? And where was she now?

"Do you know why she gave this facility to you?" Perry asked them. "Or where she got it in the first place?"

Buddy and Socks exchanged a glance, then shook their heads. "We asked about both, but she wouldn't tell us. The only thing she said was that we needed it more than her," Buddy explained.

"Don't change the subject." Socks scowled. "We still don't know why you're here."

"I wish I knew that as well," Perry said apologetically. "The last thing I remember is prepping for a mission with my friends. I think the mission might have been in Danville Forest, but that's all I can remember right now."

"I guess your brain is still rebooting properly," Socks said reluctantly. "Will you tell us when you remember?"

Perry hesitated. "Why?"

"We DID rescue you," Buddy pointed out.

"When we found you, you were lying unconscious next to a tree, a really bad burn on your arm," Socks said. "You had some kind of fever, you were gasping for breath, you had a pneumothorax, you-."

"What's that?" Perry interrupted.

"A punctured lung," Socks replied. "You also had a couple of broken ribs and a concussion. So whatever happened to you on that mission must have been big."

Perry slowly nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you if and when I remember what happened."

"Thanks!" Buddy beamed.

"Do you remember who you were with?" Socks asked. "There might be more injured people out there."

Perry's eyes widened in panic, as his blood froze. "I-I hadn't thought about that! I…" He racked his brain as best he could, trying to picture who he was talking to in the mission prep room while they prepared for the mission. "I…I can remember a few."

"Do you want us to look for them?" Socks asked. "If you tell us what they look like, we can find out if they're safe or still out there."

Perry nodded frantically. "Y-Yes, please! I-I can think of a white rabbit, a brown platypus, and a golden cat."

"A golden cat?" Socks seemed to freeze, exchanging a glance with Buddy, before shaking her head slightly. "Alright. White rabbit, brown platypus, golden cat. I'll go out and Buddy can stay here. If you think of any more, just tell Buddy and he'll contact me."

"Thanks so much," Perry breathed. "For everything."

Buddy smiled while Socks just looked away. "You're welcome," the dog said.


	2. Chapter 2

After Socks left, Perry made conversation with Buddy, who seemed to be a stereotypical dog in terms of personality: excitable, easily distracted, and very earnest. After a while of chatting about nothing in particular, Perry found the opportunity to switch the conversation over to something he wanted to talk about. "So exactly how old are you?"

"I'm four," Buddy said proudly. "How old are _you_?"

"Six," replied Perry. "But I think it means different things because we're different species. For me, it means I'm about a quarter of the way through adulthood."

"I'm an adult!" Buddy beamed.

"I guess you are."

Perry scratched his head and was about to say something else when Buddy interrupted, "Socks is also four!"

That reminded Perry of a question he had been wondering the answer to since he met the dog and cat. "How did you and Socks meet?"

"We were adopted by the same owner," explained Buddy. "I was adopted as a nine-week-old puppy so I don't remember my parents. I was three years old when Socks was adopted. She was also three years old. We didn't like each other initially."

"Cats and dogs don't generally get on," Perry said. "You seem like you're really close now, though. How come?"

Buddy looked away, his tail falling still for the first time since Perry had woken up. "Yeah, well, tragedy tends to bring people closer together."

Perry wondered what Buddy meant by that, but if the dog didn't want to talk about it, Perry wasn't going to press. Instead, he said, "I've had tragedy in my life too. When I was six months old, I was found by O.W.C.A. and taken in. To this day, I still don't know what happened to my parents. Whether they died or abandoned me, I don't know."

Buddy grimaced. "That's really sad."

Perry nodded slowly. "Yeah. But it's okay now. I have a new family at O.W.C.A., including a girlfriend."

Buddy's ears pricked up. "What?!"

Perry laughed. "Yeah, I have a girlfriend. Her name is Gypsy and she's a cat."

"Like Socks?"

"Sort of. Her tail is a lot bushier and she has brown fur and brown eyes, but otherwise, yeah. I think you'd like her."

"I wanna meet her!" Buddy's tail started wagging again.

A smile spread over Perry's face. He loved how excited Buddy was to meet Perry's girlfriend, even though they hadn't known each other for more than a few hours.

"Hey, what breed of dog are you?" Perry asked suddenly, remembering another question he wanted the answer to.

"Scotia Nova Duck Tolling Retriever," Buddy answered immediately, as if the answer was rehearsed. "I kept forgetting but Socks made me memorise it."

Perry chuckled. "I've never heard of that breed before. We have a dog at O.W.C.A., but he's a bulldog."

"We're hunting dogs, bred mainly for luring waterfowl within gunshot range and then retrieving them afterwards," Buddy told him, again sounding like he was reciting something. "Our coats are really thick so we can withstand the cold temperatures of rivers, and of course we can swim really well."

"You swim well?" Perry's eyes widened. "Platypuses are semi-aquatic, so we also swim really well."

"Awesome!" Buddy beamed. "We have a pool right here at the facility so I can practise every day."

"You have a pool?!" Perry sat bolt upright in bed. "You have to take me there! Right now!"

"Now?!" Buddy blinked. "Are you sure you're up to it?"

Perry nodded quickly. "My fur dries up if I don't go swimming on a regular basis. I was scheduled to go for my weekly swim before the mission, but I never got to do it. It would really beneficial if I could swim."

"Huh." Buddy grinned. "I guess I could go for a swim as well. Okay, if you're really sure you can make it."

Buddy helped Perry out of bed and supported him out of the room. Perry felt a little worse every few steps he took, but he was sure that the water would help the pain and discomfort.

After going down three flights of wooden stairs, they went outside into a small grassy area with a smaller pool in it. It was the smallest pool Perry had ever seen, and there was no point swimming lengths, but at least it was water. Leaving Buddy behind, Perry limped quickly over to the side and dived in.

He was right: the water DID help. The oxygen-rich water soaked through his bone-dry fur and helped him feel a lot more refreshed and a lot less short of breath. Swimming under the water, his muscles loosened, and his injured arm felt rejuvenated.

A few seconds later, Buddy jumped in after him and almost landed on top of him. Both of them grinning, the two swam around underwater for a while. Since Buddy wasn't semi-aquatic, he had to come up for air a lot more often than Perry, but that didn't matter to either of them.

Buddy was the first to get out. He climbed out onto the side and stood there, dripping water. Perry climbed out after him a few seconds later, and as soon as the platypus was out of the water, Buddy shook his incredibly thick fur, spraying an enormous amount of water over Perry, who immediately scrambled backwards to get out of the way. "Hey!"

Buddy burst out laughing. "I can't do that to anyone else. Socks and I are the only two people here most of the time, and Socks DEFINITELY doesn't like it. She doesn't even come in the pool at all."

"Cats hate water, I guess," Perry said.

Buddy nodded. "Plus she has a really bad temper. I mean, it was always bad, but the hormones make it a lot worse sometimes."

"Hormones?" Perry repeated, not fully understanding. "What do you mean?"

A pleased grin spread over Buddy's face. "Socks is pregnant."

Perry's eyebrows shot up in shock. "What?!"

"I don't blame you for not being able to tell. She's only twenty days in, so it isn't showing, The vet did an ultrasound and it looks like about four or five kittens."

Perry grinned. "Who's the father?"

"Some street cat she used to know. They had a fling a couple of weeks ago, then he dumped her."

Half-expecting Buddy to say he was the father, Perry was a little taken aback. "Wow. That's really callous."

"I know, right!" Buddy let out a quiet growl. "If he ever shows his face here, I'll…I'll…rough him up!"

Perry chuckled. "Settle down there, tiger. I'm sure he'll never show his face here."

Buddy sighed. "You're right."

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause. Then they both heard Socks's voice yelling, "BUDDY! COME QIUICKLY!"


	3. Chapter 3

Buddy immediately shot to his feet and rushed out of the door. Perry followed, unsure of where he was going but knowing it was an emergency. They rushed out of the front door and out into the forest. Perry had no time to look at where he was; he immediately focused on the brown body that Socks was pulling out of the woods.

His heart froze.

"GYPSY!"

"Your girlfriend?!" Buddy gasped.

Perry rushed over to Socks and swallowed at the state of his girlfriend, who was pale and still. "Is she okay?!"

"I found her about half a mile away," Socks panted, clearly tired from dragging Gypsy's weight. "She's unresponsive and I think her spine is fractured."

Perry's heart jumped from frozen to beating like a drumroll. "Sh-She must have been on that mission with me. I still can't really remember."

"Whatever it was, we need to get her inside now. Buddy, give me a hand!"

The dog hurried over to them and helped Socks pick Gypsy up. Then they rushed into the facility, Perry following them as quickly as he could. His arm and leg were hurting again, so he was a lot slower than them. By the time he reached the infirmary, they had already placed Gypsy on a bed and were examining her. Buddy was doing an x-ray while Socks prepared an IV drip.

"Is she okay?" Perry demanded, coming further into the room.

"We don't know yet!" Socks yelled back, startling Perry. "Just stay out of the way and let us examine her!"

Perry took a few steps back, tears falling freely down his cheeks. He couldn't lose Gypsy. He wouldn't be able to live without her. He needed her, and she needed him.

He hated seeing her lying on that bed, looking so broken.

Glancing over at Perry, Buddy took pity on the him. After completing the x-ray, he headed over to Perry and placed his paw on the platypus's shoulder. "We'll make sure she's well looked after, Perry. I promise."

"I c-can't lose her," Perry stammered. "I l-love her."

Buddy winced. "How about you go and lie down for a bit? Your injuries must be hurting."

They were, but Perry didn't want to rest. He wouldn't be able to rest. Not when the girl he loved could die at any moment. He shook his head. "Not until I know she's going to live."

"She's going to live," Socks called over her shoulder. "She does have a fractured spine but as long as she keeps it still for a while, it should heal on its own. What I'm worried about is her tension pneumothorax."

"B-But you fixed mine easily, didn't you?" Perry asked nervously.

"No. You just had a normal one. She has a TENSION pneumothorax, which is a lot worse."

Perry's skin started to crawl. "But can't you fix that too?"

"Not without help."

"But Socks-," Buddy began.

"Buddy, I'm not a doctor!" Socks shouted at him. "I need help or she's going to die!"

"Don't let her die!" Perry gasped. "Please don't let her die!"

Socks growled, sheathing and unsheathing her claws. "That's it. I'm calling Wendy."

She went to leave the room but Perry grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "W-Wendy?! Who's Wendy?!"

"The cat who left us this place," Socks replied irritably. "Now let go of my paw."

"No, you don't understand! Wendy...I know Wendy! She's my friend; she works at O.W.C.A. with me! She's Gypsy's mother!"

"Wendy's this cat's mother?" Buddy gasped.

Perry nodded frantically. "The golden cat I mentioned earlier, the one I told you to look for, is Wendy! She was on the mission with me!"

"She could be hurt?" Socks inhaled sharply. "I...I still need to call her, just in case. If I get no reply, I'll go out and look for her. Meanwhile, Buddy, you need to start removing the air from her chest. Her lung needs to reinflate."

Buddy nodded and raced back over to Gypsy. Perry anxiously let go of Socks and watched her hurry out of the room. He remembered with a start that she was pregnant. He'd never be able to tell; it didn't show, like Buddy said, and she didn't act like she was pregnant. But then again, what did "acting pregnant" actually mean? Was he expecting her to be throwing up every hour, or yelling to everyone at the top of her lungs that she was pregnant? Perry automatically sighed. He really had no experience with pregnant females.

He turned back to Burry just in time to hear a loud whooshing sound, and to his shock, he saw a tube in Gypsy's chest. "W-What is THAT?!"

"It's a chest tube," Buddy explained. "It's draining the air from her chest so that her lung can reinflate."

"H-How long will that take?"

"Not long. After that's done, she'll be okay. You should probably go and rest now."

This time, Perry was reassured that Gypsy would be okay; he trusted Buddy's word. Nodding slowly, he headed over to his own bed, which was a few metres away from Gypsy's, and lay down in it. Glancing over at his girlfriend, he let out a deep breath.

 _Sleep well, Gypsy. I love you._

With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Perry's sleep was restless and full of nightmares surrounding Gypsy. Finally, he woke up with a start after a nightmare in which Gypsy died. Breathing heavily, he quickly turned to the side and spotted his girlfriend, who was still lying in her bed. The chest tube was gone, and so was the IV, to Perry's surprise. He glanced round and spotted Socks by the computer across the room, typing on the keyboard. He slid off his bed and hobbled over to her. Even though his leg wasn't hurting anymore, it still felt stiff.

"You're up," noted Socks, without turning round.

"Mm." Perry yawned and stretched. "What happened with Wendy?"

"I found her," Socks replied, not conveying much emotion. "She was back at O.W.C.A., recovering from a broken arm. She came right away when I told her about her daughter."

"Is she still here?" Perry asked slowly.

"Yeah. Buddy took her to get something to eat."

Perry breathed out in relief. At least Wendy was okay. "And Gypsy?"

"Wendy finished off her care and she's resting peacefully now. Her spine is healing nicely. She should be awake in a couple of hours, maybe out of bed in a couple of days."

"That's great!" Perry gave another sigh of relief. "But there's something I have to tell you about her."

"Okay…" Socks turned around in her chair, looking apprehensive.

"Gypsy...has powers. Magical powers that she was born with. She can control nature to some degree, and...well, basically, she's connected to nature. I bet she would heal quicker if we took her outside."

To his surprise, Socks didn't seem shocked at all. She slowly nodded. "That explains it."

"What?"

"When I found her, she showed signs of having a concussion and several other injuries. By all accounts, she should really be dead right now. But she'd been lying in the grass for about a day, so I guess that's why she survived."

Perry swallowed, unsure of how to reply to that. He had come so close to losing Gypsy… He could hardly bear thinking about it. "Yeah. Nature heals her and gives her energy. She might recover quicker and better outside."

Socks nodded and stood up. Immediately, she winced and her paw flew to her stomach. That again reminded Perry of her condition. "When's the due date?" he asked hesitantly.

Socks scowled at him. "Did Buddy tell you?"

Perry nodded.

"Great." The black cat sighed and moved over to Gypsy's bedside, getting ready to transfer the brown cat. "About six weeks, because I'm already twenty days in. I can feel the little things moving inside me." She shuddered. "It'd feel weird if I didn't know they were my babies."

"Did you ever consider…?" Perry couldn't finish the thought. He definitely didn't approve of abortion, but at the same time, he respected that every female was different and if a pregnant female wanted an abortion, he wouldn't oppose them. It was their body so their choice, after all.

"No, definitely not." Socks sighed again. "Part of me...was glad."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to be a mother, as hard as that may be to believe. The strange thing is that I've never wanted a mate or a lover, but I wanted children. I didn't think it would ever happen. And even though I hate the father, I'm glad he was able to give me this gift."

Perry smiled. "That's really sweet, Socks."

"Yeah, yeah. Help me get her outside."

Perry and Socks started rolling Gypsy's bed out of the room. Since Gypsy's spine was still recovering, movement should be kept to a minimum. As they walked, Perry had one paw clasping Gypsy's and the other touching her shoulder. He hoped she could feel it and would feel comforted by it.

"Is she aware of what's going on?" Perry asked.

Socks shook her head. "No. She's unconscious; we had to knock her out in order to treat her."

Perry hesitated. "I know you're not a doctor, but you seem to be a really skilled medic."

Socks shrugged. "Wendy taught me the basics and some slightly more advanced stuff, in case something like this happened. It would actually be really helpful if we found a proper doctor who could stay with us full-time and do research with us here."

"I could ask around at O.W.C.A.," offered Perry.

"You could. I doubt you'd get any volunteers. But…" Socks sighed again. "Thanks anyway."

Perry smiled back at her. "No problem."

When they got outside, Perry carefully lifted Gypsy up and lay her down on the grass, then he lay down next to her, cuddling up close to her.

Socks watched him with interest. "Buddy told me she's your girlfriend."

Perry nodded. "She is."

"You must really love her."

"I do."

A small smile appeared on the black cat's face. "You look cute together."

"We look even cuter when both of us are awake," joked Perry, causing Socks to laugh.

"Hey, look." Socks pointed down at the grass beside Gypsy. "There are daisies growing underneath her."

"That's her powers. It must be working."

Perry beamed and stroked Gypsy's ears gently. Maybe she could feel this, since she was slowly getting better. He hoped she could.

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?" Socks asked.

Perry shook his head. "I'd rather you were here in case her condition changes. For the better or for worse."

"Oh, okay."

Wincing, Socks sat down on the grass on Perry's other side. "Sometimes it feels like I've got worms inside me. Bleh."

"Are they moving around?" Perry asked curiously.

Socks nodded gingerly. "Human babies kick. Cat babies squirm."

Perry grinned. "Not long now."

"Six weeks. Six more weeks of squirming and nausea and bleh. If you and Gypsy ever decide to have a baby, make sure to tell her what it's going to be like."

Perry fell silent, imagining having a child with Gypsy. They had talked about it a few times, and both of them had agreed that it was something they wanted to do in the future. Perhaps if Gypsy ever did become pregnant, she could ask Socks for advice.

"Thank you," Perry murmured aloud.

The black cat, who was already half-asleep, mumbled, "Hmm?"

"Thank you, Socks. For everything."

"You're welcome."


	5. Chapter 5

Just as Perry was falling asleep, he heard a familiar female voice call softly, "Perry!"

Perry rolled onto his stomach and looked towards where the voice was coming from. To his relief, he saw Wendy coming across the grass towards him, her left arm in a sling. Perry smiled and got to his feet, embracing her as she reached him. Wendy had been the closest thing to a mother he had had since he was six months old; her daughter Gypsy was three months younger than him, so he had grown up with her after he lost his parents.

"How are you?" Wendy asked softly.

"Surviving," replied Perry quietly. "And so's Gypsy."

"I'm glad she's okay. I was really worried about her when I woke up back in O.W.C.A. and she wasn't there."

Perry stepped back from Wendy so that he could see her face. "Can you remember what happened on that mission?"

"Bits and pieces," Wendy responded slowly. "I don't think I can remember who we were fighting, but I know I can remember exactly who was on the mission."

"Who? We need to know so we can find them and make sure they're okay."

Wendy nodded and closed her eyes, thinking hard. "I'm picturing all of us in Mission Prep. Me, you, Gypsy, Ohio, Jackie, Kiki…"

"Kiki?!" Perry blinked several times in a row out of shock. "Why was she there?"

"Gypsy and Kiki are still partners," explained Wendy. "They still do missions together."

Perry had forgotten about that. "Oh. Anyone else?"

Wendy screwed up her face, trying to remember. "Wasn't there a newcomer?"

"A newcomer?" Perry frowned, then his face cleared as he remembered what Wendy was talking about. "Yes, I remember! A raccoon. Rolf the Raccoon, right?"

Wendy nodded. "That was his name. I think he was part of the Feral Inclusion Program."

"What's that, if you don't mind me asking?" Socks asked.

"The FI Program is something our leader came up with recently," Perry replied. "We recruit wild animals living either on the streets or in Danville Forest and train them up. It's different because normally O.W.C.A. agents start their training at six months to a year old, depending on their species, and finish at about four years old, again depending on their species. FIP recruits older, feral animals. They're not actual O.W.C.A. agents but they do work for O.W.C.A. so they come on missions and stuff."

"Some of us believe it's a little risky," Wendy said. "Because O.W.C.A. agents are bound to O.W.C.A. with their whole lives, since most of them joined when they were babies, they nearly always follow every order and obey every rule. The FIPs…aren't O.W.C.A. agents and they haven't been part of O.W.C.A. as long as the actual agents, so there's less tying them to the organisation."

Wendy fell silent and looked down at the ground. Socks seemed to glean her inference there. "There's more chance of them betraying you."

Perry glanced sharply at Wendy, who bit her lip. "I remember this mission was supposed to be a stealth mission," she said. "Nobody was supposed to know we were there. In and out, wherever we were going. I still can't remember that. But something happened. I can remember an explosion of light and a lot of pain. I'm fairly certain all the actual agents on the mission were skilled enough to not spring any traps."

"Are you accusing Rolf of betraying us?" Perry asked quietly. "Because that's a really serious accusation."

"I'm not making any formal accusation," Wendy argued. "I'm simply acknowledging the possibility."

"By that logic, any of us could have done it," Perry argued back.

"Do you really think Jackie or Ohio would have betrayed the organisation they've been part of for so long?" snapped Wendy. "Or Gypsy or me?"

Perry shook his head. "No, I know you, Gypsy, and Ohio would never do that."

"So now are you accusing JACKIE?" Wendy flung at him.

Perry's lack of an immediate reply chilled Wendy to the bone. "Seriously?!"

"I think I'll go inside," Socks murmured, getting to her feet.

"I never made an accusation!" Perry defended himself. "Like you, all I did was acknowledge the possibility! Socks, could you take Gypsy inside?"

"Don't you dare move my daughter!" Wendy snarled, as Socks bent down to obey.

The black cat glanced from Wendy to Perry, then straightened up again with a wince. "May I remind you that I am PREGNANT, and this stress isn't good for me. You're a doctor, Wendy, you should know that."

Wendy folded her arms and glared down at the ground, while Perry glanced apologetically over at Socks. "Maybe you should just go inside."

"That's what I was DOING."

Rolling her eyes, Socks made her way inside. Perry watched her go to make sure she was okay, then turned back to Wendy. "I'm admitting that Rolf is a lot more of a possibility than Jackie, but you still can't deny that the possibility is there."

"Yes I can!" Wendy stared at Perry in disbelief. "Jackie had no reason to betray us!"

"Her former mate did."

"How dare you!" shrieked Wendy, her claws unsheathing. "Jackie has NO ties to Dennis anymore, and you know it! She cut off all contact with him when he betrayed O.W.C.A. and left her! So don't you dare accuse her of still being in league with him! SHE ISN'T!"

Perry swallowed. He absolutely hated deliberately taking the position of Devil's Advocate, but now he knew for certain that Jackie was innocent in the matter. He had never really suspected her, but now they could confidently count her out. He raised his paws passively. "I know, Wendy. I know."

Wendy growled and automatically lifted her paw as if to slash him. Perry held his ground, but after just a few seconds, she dropped her paw again and angrily sheathed her claws. "I hate it when you do that, Perry," she growled. "Find someone else to play games with."

With that, she lifted her daughter up and carried her inside.

Perry let out a deep breath. For a moment, he had actually been afraid that Wendy would slash him. She was a real sweetheart 99% of the time, but when provoked, she turned into a fierce lioness.

There was a saying among humans: "Demons run when a good man goes to war." Ever since Perry had first heard it, he knew that it could not fit Wendy better. If ever she led an army into battle, it would be a dangerous day in hell.

His shoulders dropping, Perry slowly headed towards the front door. He was just thinking about how he was going to apologise to Wendy when he heard a thud behind him. Spinning round, he saw two rabbits: one white, one grey, collapsed on the ground. They were both kids, and to his shock, he recognised both of them.

It was Liam and Tammy, Jackie's kids.


	6. Chapter 6

As Perry rushed over to the two kids, he noticed first that Tammy was burnt badly across her face. Liam was pale and had burns down his arms and on his chest. Neither of them were conscious.

They were both very young—Tammy was two and Liam was three—so he was able to lift them both up with each of his arms. Tammy was lighter, so he held her with his injured arm. Then he made his way inside, calling for medical help as he did.

Wendy and Socks met him as he reached the infirmary and both took one of the kids over to the beds. Buddy appeared next to him and the two of them watched as the examinations began.

"Who are they?" Buddy asked.

"My friend's kids," Perry answered worriedly. "One of my closest friends, Jackie the Rabbit. These are her kids: Liam and Tammy." As he named them, he pointed to the corresponding bed.

"Those burns don't look the same as yours did," the dog said thoughtfully. "Yours were obviously chemical burns. Those look like…"

"Fire burns," finished Perry, nodding. "I thought that too. But they weren't on the mission with us, so why do they have-."

All of a sudden, Tammy lurched up, screaming Perry's name. The platypus hurried over to her bed as Wendy tried to keep her calm.

"Tammy, it's me, I'm here." Perry gently stroked Tammy's ear. "What happened?"

"M-Mom," Tammy coughed. "F-Fire. O-Our h-h-h-house."

"There was a fire at your house?" Perry gasped.

Tammy nodded weakly. "M-Mom a-and D-D-Dad told u-us to r-r-r-run. I-I-I d-don't know i-if they m-m-made it out."

Perry's heart froze. _Jackie…Ohio…no…!_

"I'll check the surrounding area," Buddy offered, taking off.

"A-A-Are M-M-Mom an' D-Dad g-g-g-gone?" Tammy croaked, tears beginning to roll out the side of her eyes.

"They'll be okay, sweetie," Perry reassured her. "We'll find them, I promise."

Feeling his heart pounding, Perry left Tammy's bedside and raced after Buddy. He caught up with the dog by the front door, and the two of them rushed out into the forest.

"Where do your friends live?" called Buddy.

"By the lake. Do you know where that is?"

Buddy nodded and altered his course slightly to the left. Perry followed, hoping against all hope that it wasn't too late.

When they reached the lake, they could see even from this distance that the small cabin was almost destroyed from the fire. Small wisps of smoke were still rising from the building, but the fire itself seemed to be out. Perry took off running towards the destroyed building, his heart rising into his throat.

When he got there, he saw that only two black walls were left partially standing. The rest was gone. The floor was a large pile of ash and cinders. Perry sighed shakily. The entire cabin had been made out of wood; it hadn't stood a chance.

 _Where are you, Jackie and Ohio?_

After a few minutes searching the remains of the cabin, he had almost given up hope. There was still the tiny chance that they had managed to escape and were in the forest somewhere, though. So he and Buddy began exploring the general area of the forest around the cabin. With every minute going by, Perry was feeling less and less hopeful.

But finally, their luck changed.

"Here!" Buddy called, pointing to a hole in the ground that Perry recognised as a rabbit den.

He ran over to the hole and looked in. His heart leapt as he made out the shadowy forms of a rabbit and a platypus, deep in the hole. He and Buddy reached in and managed to pull them gently out.

Jackie's stomach was swollen and there was a long laceration down her face, starting from the base of her left ear and ending just above her top lip on the right side. It was still bleeding a little but most of the blood on her face was dried.

Ohio seemed fine on the front but when Perry turned him over, he saw that the brown platypus had a massive burn on his back.

"We need to get them back to the facility," Perry said urgently. "Neither of them are conscious and they've probably been here a while."

Buddy nodded. "I agree. What are their names?"

"Jackie and Ohio," Perry replied, pointing to each in turn. "I'll take Jackie, you take Ohio."

"Gotcha."

…

When they reached the facility, Socks and Wendy seemed to have just finished with the kids. As Socks came towards the door, she demanded, "Who are they?"

"The parents," Perry replied, indicating the kids.

"How many more are you going to bring?" Socks sighed.

Perry's eyes hardened. "However many more are injured," he said coldly.

Socks scowled back, before her eyes flickered to Jackie. "Whoa. She looks bad." She glanced up at Perry. "How far along is she?"

Perry blinked, forgetting his irritancy. "What…?"

Socks also blinked, frowning. "You don't know how far along in the pregnancy she is?"

"Jackie is PREGNANT?!" Perry yelped.

The black cat snorted softly. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Twenty days," murmured a male voice just then.

Perry turned to Ohio, who was now semi-conscious in Buddy's arms. "Ohio?"

"Twenty days into the pregnancy," Ohio rasped, before falling back unconscious.

"Oh my God…" Perry groaned. "Neither of them told me!"

Socks held out her arms, and Perry placed Jackie into them. He followed Socks over to the penultimate free bed and watched as Jackie was lain on it.

"A rabbit's gestation period is thirty days," Socks told him as she began the examination. "So let's hope she doesn't give birth ten days early."

"If she does, will that be bad?" Perry asked nervously.

"If Wendy's around to assist, then no," Socks replied slowly. "I hope. But ten days is still a long time for an underdeveloped rabbit kit. And that's just assuming it'll only be ONE baby."

"I-It might be a platypus," Perry stammered. "Her mate, the baby's father, is a platypus. So the baby or babies might be platypuses."

"If that's so, then ten days premature wouldn't be very bad at all," Socks said. "Platypuses' gestation period is twenty-two days. But whatever the case, I think we can agree that her going into labour would be-."

All of a sudden, Jackie let out a scream and gripped the bedsheets so tightly that she almost ripped them. Her body jerked, as Socks quickly examined her to find out what was happening. The black cat's face drained of colour. "Oh, no…"

Her fear infected Perry too. "W-What is it?"

Socks grimaced. "The worst has come to the worst. Perry, she's in premature labour."


	7. Chapter 7

Perry immediately began panicking, but Buddy gently manoeuvred him away from the bed and towards the door. The platypus initially struggled. "Wait, I want to be there!"

"Wendy and Socks can handle this," argued Buddy gently. "Besides, having too many people around her might be bad for her."

Perry still wanted to argue, but he knew Buddy was right. "What now, then?"

"I'm going to move you and Gypsy to a spare room so you can have some privacy when she wakes up."

Perry's heart leapt. "Really?!"

Buddy grinned. "Yeah. Just give me a minute. Go across the hall and one door to the right. That's a spare room, and I'll be back in just a minute."

Perry nodded and left the room. He found the spare bedroom easily and went inside, finding a double bed and a desk and not much else. It was a cute little room, with pink wallpaper, light yellow curtains, and light yellow carpet that felt soft under his feet.

He went over to the bed and slid onto it. That too was very soft, even softer than his bed at home. He spread his limbs and moved as if he was making a snow angel, letting the peaceful softness spread over his whole body.

A few minutes later, Buddy entered the room, carrying Gypsy in his arms. He lay her on the bed next to Perry and smiled at the platypus. "She should wake up any time now."

"Good," Perry sighed in relief. "Thanks. How's Jackie doing?"

"The birth won't be over for another few hours, but so far, it seems like it's going okay. I'm going back in now so I'll keep you posted."

Perry nodded slowly, reaching out to take Gypsy's paw. "I hope it goes well."

Buddy grinned. "Yeah, so do I."

Giving a small wave, Buddy left the room.

Perry snuggled up to Gypsy, burying his face in her neck. Her fur was always so soft, even after missions. It always soothed him to just stroke it, and now it was distracting him from worrying about Jackie.

He didn't realise that he fell asleep until he felt Gypsy move and he jerked into a sitting position. "Gyp?"

His heart fluttered as her eyes slowly opened and focused on Perry. She sleepily blinked a couple of times. "Perry…?"

"Gypsy!" gasped Perry, stroking her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"M' spine hurts," she mumbled. "Where am I?"

Perry got her up to speed with the facility, Buddy and Socks, and what they could remember about the mission.

"Do you remember who we were fighting?" Gypsy asked, her voice growing stronger the more she used it.

Perry regretfully shook his head. "I don't. All I remember was that it was supposed to be a stealth mission. And we've located almost everyone who was actually on the mission."

Gypsy hesitated, before reaching up and touching Perry's cheek with her paw. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She lay her other paw on Perry's bandaged arm. "Is your arm okay?"

"Just a small burn," Perry lied. "I'm fine."

"O-Okay." Gypsy didn't seem a hundred percent convinced, but she dropped the subject. "Who have you found?"

"Jackie and Ohio are here," Perry replied. "I don't know how Ohio is, but Jackie…" He swallowed. "Jackie went into premature labour."

"J-Jackie is pregnant?!" Gypsy gasped.

Perry took some comfort in the fact that apparently Gypsy hadn't known about Jackie's pregnancy either. "Apparently."

"And she's having the baby now?"

"Yeah. Apparently it's ten days early."

"Poor Jackie." Gypsy exhaled slowly. "Who else have you found? W-Where's Mom?"

"She's assisting with Jackie's birth. I promise she's fine, she just has a broken arm."

Gypsy sighed in relief. "Good. Who else?" Her eyes suddenly widened. "Kiki! Where's Kiki?!"

"We haven't found-."

"I remember what happened to her!" Gypsy cried, looking very distressed. She grabbed Perry's forearms. "Kiki was hit… Sh-She pushed me out the way!"

"Of what?" Perry demanded, a lump rising in his throat.

"Th-The t-t-tree," Gypsy croaked, tears filling her eyes. "I r-remember a tree w-was about to fall. I w-was in so much p-pain because of it. I w-was almost crushed by it b-because I was distracted, b-b-but Kiki p-pushed me o-out the way."

"Did you see what happened to her?" Perry asked urgently.

Gypsy shook her head quickly. "I w-was in too much pain. A-And I remember a branch l-landing on my back, which w-was when I p-passed out."

That explained her fractured spine, Perry realised. But now he had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Kiki hadn't been found yet. Was it possible that she was alive? Was her body in the woods somewhere, trapped under a tree? Perry shivered at the thought.

"We have to find her, Perry!" Gypsy cried shrilly. "I can't lose her!"

"I know, Gyp, I know." Perry hesitated. "Jackie's going to be in labour for a couple of hours so there isn't anything else for us to do. Why don't we go out and find her?"

"R-R-Really?" Gypsy wiped her eyes with the back of her paw.

"Only if you're able to," Perry replied. "Can you walk?"

Perry helped her sit up and she swung her legs over the bed. "Well, I can move my legs. So I hope I can walk."

She slid off the bed and onto her hind paws. Since they hadn't been used for a while, they almost crumpled under her weight, but Perry managed to hold her up. He helped her take a few steps until she could walk on her own, and then they held paws and left the room.

Perry peered into the infirmary and caught Buddy's attention. "We think a friend of ours is in trouble in the forest, so we're going to go and look for her. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Buddy nodded. "Good luck, guys."

"How's Jackie?" Gypsy asked worriedly.

"Socks and Wendy are with her, don't worry," Buddy replied. "She might have an infection but she's in really good paws, I promise."

"I-Infection?" Gypsy stammered.

"Gyp, she'll be fine," Perry said soothingly. "Your mom is the best doctor we have, you know that."

Gypsy slowly nodded. "Y-Yeah, I know. Let's go."

She turned and began rushing down the corridor. With one last nod to Buddy, Perry followed.

 _We're coming, Kiki._

…

 **A/N: Kiki belongs to Nightflame203.**


	8. Chapter 8

Gypsy was gaining strength with every step she made on the grass. She could feel the forest mourning the death of the tree, but right now, she had to focus on finding her best friend. Luckily, the natural energy of the forest was distracting her brain from coming up with nightmare scenarios surrounding Kiki and whether she was alive or not.

Perry, however, was terrified, which thoroughly shocked him. Ever since finding out the reason Kiki used to bully him, he had avoided her and hadn't thought about her at all. Maybe he was only scared for her because she was his girlfriend's partner. But somehow, he doubted it. Kiki was one of the very few people in his life with whom he had gone through training. Even though their relationship had been one uphill battle since day one, at least she had been a constant in his life for many years. Things had changed and people had come and gone, but Kiki was still here. And maybe he did care about her some after all. If she was given time to get over her feelings, he knew the two of them could become friends. They were more alike than either of them knew.

Finally, Gypsy skidded to a halt, causing Perry to stop too. "I can't feel the tree anymore. I think we've gone too far."

Perry watched her as she felt the earth with her feet, trying to sense which direction they should go in next. She was using the soil to locate the fallen tree by sensing which area had suddenly experienced a loss of energy recently. And finally, she found it.

"This way!" she called, pointing to the left a little.

She took off running, and Perry followed. They were hoping against all hope that Kiki was okay. As they got nearer to the site, that turned into simply a hope that she was alive.

After a while, Gypsy started calling Kiki's name, in case the fox was trapped somewhere. Perry joined in, beginning to have a sinking feeling in his stomach. She was gone… She had to be gone…

"KIKI!" shrieked Gypsy, growing more and more desperate. She couldn't lose her best friend. Kiki had to be here somewhere. She just needed to shout louder.

But then she had an idea. Running up to a tree, she lay her paws on the bark and placed her forehead against it. "Please help me find Kiki," she whispered.

The tree seemed to hum at her words, then she heard a shimmering voice call, "Kiki."

"What was that?" Perry demanded.

The voice called Kiki's name again. It seemed to echo round the trees, getting further and further away.

"The voice of the trees," Gypsy replied proudly. "It's helping us find Kiki."

"How?"

Gypsy stayed silent, listening hard. After a few minutes, she heard a faint but clear voice coming from the left: "Gypsy!"

"Kiki!"

Gypsy turned and followed the voice, which was being carried along through the leaves of the trees. It was definitely Kiki's voice, and it sounded like it was in pain. At least the fox was alive.

 _But for how much longer?_

Gypsy pushed those fears to the back of her mind as she burst into a small clearing and spotted the fallen tree. It was absolutely massive, but straight away, Gypsy spotted a patch of light brown fur caught in some of the leaves near her. "Kiki!" Gypsy yelled. "If you can hear me, answer me!"

There was a pause. Then she heard a cough, and a weak voice called, "G-Gypsy!"

Gypsy, with Perry right behind her, followed the voice until she finally found her friend. Kiki the Fox was lying underneath several medium-sized branches to the side of the main trunk. She had avoided being hit by the heaviest part, but she was still well and truly trapped underneath the weight of the branches.

Gypsy almost cried with relief when she saw her best friend. She dropped to her knees beside Kiki and rested her paw on the fox's shoulder. "Can you hear me?"

Kiki's eyes were closed but she very clearly nodded. "Are...you...okay?" she rasped.

Gypsy automatically nodded very quickly. "Yes, Kiki. Thanks to you. Where are you hurt?"

"My head's pounding," Kiki murmured. "And my chest."

"Well, no wonder!" Perry's voice rose out of worry. "You're trapped under half a dozen branches!"

Kiki's chest heaved as she took in a shuddering breath. "P-Perry…? Y-You're here t-too…?"

Perry knelt down on Kiki's other side and took her paw gently. "Yeah, Kiki. I'm here. As soon as Gypsy told me you were in trouble, we came out here right away."

"W-Why you?" Kiki broke out into a short fit of coughing, before her eyes finally managed to open enough to see the teal platypus in front of her. "W-We haven't even s-spoken in m-months."

"I know, and…" Perry swallowed. "I regret the way I've been treating you recently. I should have gotten over it long ago. Kiki, I'm sorry."

"Can we talk about this after we've got her out?" Gypsy demanded, before Kiki could speak. "Perry, lift that one off her. I've got this one."

Perry obeyed, lifting the moderately heavy branch off the fox while Gypsy pulled another one out from the pile. After the two had lifted the last branch off, Gypsy hurriedly felt Kiki's neck for a pulse. She knew the fox was alive, but she needed to assess how close she was to going the other way. It was a trick her medic mother had taught her: if the pulse was strong, they were generally in no danger of dying in the immediate future. But if it was the opposite…

"I can't tell how strong her pulse is," Gypsy said worriedly. "We need to get her back to the facility."

"Does your back hurt?" Perry asked Kiki. "Have you lost feeling in your legs?"

"No to both," replied Kiki, whose eyes had closed again. "'M tired, though…"

"I don't know if sleeping right now is good for you." Gypsy swallowed. "You've been out here for almost a day. Those branches have been compressing your chest for almost twenty-four hours. But at least you don't seem to have a spinal injury. I think we need to move you."

Together, Perry and Gypsy lifted her up. She hung between them, one arm slung over Gypsy's shoulders and the other over Perry's. Then they began their long journey back to the facility.

As it happened, Gypsy had been unconsciously leaving behind daisies for every pawstep she had taken. This meant there was a handy trail all the way back to the facility. The journey was laborious, but finally, they saw it through the trees. At the door stood Ohio, looking considerably better. He had a worried look on his face, but when he spotted the three animals coming towards him, he visibly breathed out in relief and rushed to meet them. "Guys, you're back! Is Kiki okay?"

"She needs urgent medical attention, but she should be fine," Perry replied. "How's Jackie?"

"I-I think we're nearly there," Ohio replied shakily. "I just wanted to make sure you guys are okay so do you mind if I run back up there?"

"No, not at all," Perry said. "We'll follow with Kiki."

Shooting them a brief smile, Ohio turned and rushed up the stairs. Gypsy and Perry followed more slowly, Kiki stumbling up the stairs. It was clear that her legs had started to hurt.

When they reached the infirmary, they saw Buddy standing in the doorway. He grinned at them as they approached. "It's over."

A second after that, the four animals heard the cry of a baby. Perry's eyes widened and he exchanged a delighted glance with Gypsy.

 _Jackie's done it._


	9. Chapter 9

Perry and Gypsy took Kiki into the infirmary and lay her down on Perry's vacated bed. As Buddy came over to do an initial assessment, Perry and Gypsy rushed over to where Wendy was standing by the sink, washing something. As they got nearer, Wendy turned round to reveal a tiny, pink-furred baby platypus in her arms. She smiled at them. "The birth was successful. Both mother and daughter are doing fine."

"A girl!" Gypsy gasped, reaching out a mesmerized finger to gently stroke the sleeping baby's cheek. "She's gorgeous!"

"She reminds me of how small you were when you were born," chuckled Wendy. "You and your brother were also early. But you were smaller than him."

"She still is," teased Perry, earning him a shove from his girlfriend.

"Can we see Jackie?" Gypsy asked.

Wendy nodded. "Of course."

She led the way over to Jackie's bed, where the white rabbit was sitting in bed, propped up against several pillows. She was drenched in sweat and her chest was heaving, but otherwise, she looked healthy. Her eyes fluttered open as Wendy approached, and she smiled. "Pink fur. A girl?"

Wendy smiled back and nodded. "That's right."

She carefully handed the small baby to Jackie, who almost stopped breathing when she saw how precious her new daughter was. She turned to look up at Ohio, who was standing next to her, in wonder. "Sh-She's ours," she breathed. "Mia."

"Mia," Ohio agreed, stroking his new daughter's head. "Hello, Mia."

Baby Mia's eyes slowly opened and blinked a few times. She gave a squeak, causing everyone in the vicinity to let out a squeal. Then she tilted her head up until she was looking upside-down at Perry and Gypsy, the latter of whose heart was almost melting from the cuteness. She stuck out her little tongue and babbled something that sounded like, "Aflafla."

Jackie giggled. "Mia, those are your godparents: Perry and Gypsy."

The platypus and cat gasped and clasped paws automatically. "W-We're her godparents?" Gypsy stammered.

Ohio grinned and nodded. "Of course. You're our best friends."

"And we need to apologise for not telling you about the pregnancy," Jackie said softly. "We only found out last Sunday, so we were going to wait until our weekly dinner together tomorrow to tell you. We thought it would be the best place."

"It's okay." Perry smiled. "Mia more than makes up for not knowing. She's so cute."

Jackie beamed and reached up, placing Mia in her father's arms. "Wendy, could you call Lois and my mother? I want them to meet Mia."

Wendy nodded. "Of course, hon." She turned and left the room.

After Ohio had played with her for a bit, he offered Mia to Perry and Gypsy. The teal platypus was a little apprehensive, but Gypsy reached out immediately and got Mia placed in her arms. She too almost stopped breathing at the sight of the tiny baby platypus in her arms. "Sh-She's so beautiful…"

Perry glanced at his girlfriend in amusement. "Are you crying?"

"M-M-Maybe." Gypsy hurriedly wiped her eyes on her shoulder. "It's just… maybe in a year or so, this will be our baby I'll be holding."

Perry smiled and nodded. "I hope so."

"R-Really?"

Perry nodded again. "Definitely. I'd love to have a child with you, Gyp. Whenever we're ready."

Gypsy beamed and lay her head on Perry's shoulder. Ohio took Mia back and rocked her gently to sleep. However, just after Mia closed her little eyes, Jackie sat painfully bolt upright, her eyes wide and terrified. "Tammy and Liam! Where are they?! WENDY!"

A few seconds later, Wendy came rushing into the room. "Jackie?!"

"W-Where are Liam and Tammy?!" Jackie cried. "Where are they?!"

"They're fine, I promise!" Wendy placed her paws on Jackie's shoulders and forced her to lie down again. "They both have minor burns and Liam is suffering from the effects of too much smoke inhalation, but Socks is treating them as we speak."

Even though she clearly didn't know who Socks was, Jackie didn't ask. Instead, she croaked, "How bad are their burns?"

"Liam's are on his arms. They should heal quickly, probably within a fortnight. But Tammy…"

Jackie's heart filled with fear. "WHAT?"

"Tammy's are over her face and her right eye." At Jackie's horrified look, the cat quickly added, "It's unlikely that she'll have any lasting damage in that eye, but you should prepare yourself for her face being permanently disfigured. We'll try everything we can, but we might not be able to fix all the damage."

Jackie let out a sob and buried her face in her hands. Ohio sat down on the bed next to her and massaged her shoulder gently.

"What happened?" Perry asked. "Why was there a fire?"

"A-After the mission, we f-fled back home," Jackie replied hoarsely. "W-We found it on fire."

Gypsy gasped. "Oh, no!"

"We didn't even think," Ohio said, taking over the story. "We just… We knew we had to save the kids. We both rushed right in, found the kids, and told them to run. We tried to follow, but the doorway became blocked. We had to jump out the window."

Perry winced. "I bet that wasn't good for you…"

"Ohio jumped first, then he c-caught me." Jackie squeezed her mate's paw. "Otherwise, something m-might have happened to p-poor Mia..."

"The smoke was getting really bad," added Ohio, clearly trying to distract Jackie from the thought of something happening to Mia. "We could hardly breathe. Luckily, Jackie's old rabbit hole was nearby. And I guess that's where you found us."

Perry nodded. "Yeah. We were really worried about you two. When Socks told me you were going into premature labour, I almost had a heart attack."

Jackie squeezed her eyes shut. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Mommy!" came a terrified bleat suddenly.

Everyone spun round to see little Liam in the doorway. Jackie gasped at the sight of both his little arms covered in bandages. "Mommy, where are you?!"

Jackie determinedly crawled over the bed and hopped down onto the floor. She almost fell, but she steadied herself before anyone could help her. Then she rushed over to her son and took him into a comforting embrace. "I'm here, sweetie. I'm right here."

Liam started crying into his mother's shoulder. "W-Where's T-T-Tammy?"

"Sh-She's… She's being looked after, I promise," was all Jackie could say to that.

Perry silently turned his head to look at Ohio, who couldn't meet his eyes. "What happened on that mission, Ohio?"

The brown platypus flinched slightly. "I…"

At that moment, Socks arrived in the infirmary. "Wendy, I need you to look over the kid's injuries."

"How bad are they?" Jackie asked urgently.

Socks slowly shook her head and didn't reply to her question. "Wendy, please."

The cat nodded. "Alright, I'm coming. Please can you look out for two rabbits coming to the facility?"

Socks nodded back. "Sure."

Jackie clutched Liam tightly to her and began crying quietly. Ohio moved over to her and hugged her from behind with his free arm, making sure Mia was safe in his other arm.

Perry grasped Gypsy's hand. "How about we go and keep watch, Socks? We know Jackie's visitors and they know us. Besides, I think you're needed with Tammy."

Socks nodded again. "Yeah, I think so. Thanks."

"No problem."


	10. Chapter 10

Gypsy briefly squeezed Jackie's shoulder, before heading outside with Perry next to her. They went outside onto the grass and sat down. Gypsy sighed and made dandelions grow around her. "Poor Jackie. I couldn't imagine being in her position."

"She gained a child today, but she may very well lose one too," Perry said sadly. "Poor Tammy as well."

"But why was the house on fire?" Gypsy asked suddenly. "It can't have just spontaneously combusted. I get that that happens, especially in forests, but it seems too random. We'd just been on a mission."

"What are you thinking, Gyp?"

"Whoever we were fighting must have done it," explained Gypsy. "Doesn't that make sense?"

"It would," Perry said slowly. "But then why-."

He broke off suddenly as a memory returned. Nothing had triggered it, but now he could remember with clarity exactly what had happened on the mission.

Raven Starbird...

…

 _"_ _Rolf, Wendy, and I will take the north entrance," Perry said. "Gypsy and Kiki, the south. Jackie and Ohio, the roof. At my signal, we'll jump in and take Starbird by surprise."_

 _The two pairs took off to do what he said. Wendy moved closer to Perry, keeping an eye on Rolf. "Won't the north entrance be heavily guarded?"_

 _"_ _Please," drawled Rolf. "I could have been in and out, twenty minutes tops."_

 _"_ _I doubt it," Perry said coldly. "To answer your question, Wendy, yes. But you can sneak in easily if you know the right entry place."_

 _Rolf sighed and folded his arms. "I still don't get why there are seven of us here. We're going against one measly girl."_

 _Perry turned on him. "We've gone through this many times already! Raven Starbird is an extremely dangerous individual. She is a WOMAN, and not just any woman. L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. have invited her to join them over a dozen times now but she's refused. She develops CHEMICAL WEAPONS, for goodness sake! She's literally a genius, AND the princess of Drusselstein. Now if you don't start taking this seriously, I'm going to have you kicked off the mission before it even begins. Do I make myself clear?"_

 _Rolf's eyes narrowed. "Crystal."_

 _Wendy hesitated. "Go easy on him, Perry. He's not an O.W.C.A. agent."_

 _"_ _That's what I'm worried about," Perry snapped._

 _The raccoon's fists clenched, but Wendy placed her paw on his shoulder and apologetically shook her head. Rolf dropped his arms and scowled down at the ground._

 _"_ _Let's get in position," Perry said._

 _Up on the roof, Jackie and Ohio were looking down through the skylight into the massive chemical plant. In their view, they could see two enormous vats full of bubbling chemicals, with a metal walkway going through the middle of them near the top. What made them more than a little nervous was the fact that one of the vats was directly underneath the skylight._

 _"_ _There she is," whispered Jackie, pointing down._

 _Ohio followed his mate's finger and saw a woman standing at the end of one of the walkway paths, just staring into the vat below the skylight. It was Raven Starbird herself._

 _"_ _She's the princess of Drusselstein," Ohio said quietly. "You'd never know, though, would you."_

 _Jackie swallowed nervously. "No. I guess you wouldn't."_

 _Ohio slowly reached out and grasped his mate's paw. "Should you even be here? If anything goes wrong-."_

 _"_ _It won't," Jackie interrupted quickly. "Perry won't let anything happen."_

 _Ohio nodded, trying to have faith in his best friend._

 _Meanwhile, Perry had snuck through the front gate and was hovering by the window with Wendy and Rolf._

 _"_ _This is too easy," Rolf murmured._

 _Perry decided he disliked Rolf. The raccoon was a street animal, a thief. He'd been spotted many times stealing from O.W.C.A. warehouses but he had never been arrested because nobody could catch him. When he'd joined the Feral Inclusion Program, the slate had been wiped clean, to Perry's annoyance. Major Monogram had argued that Rolf's skills were put to better use in O.W.C.A. than on the streets. Perry did agree, but he hated that Rolf had gotten away with so many thefts. He couldn't abide it when people weren't punished for their crimes._

 _"_ _Quiet," he hissed._

 _"_ _Perry, we just snuck into the most heavily guarded plant in America," snapped Rolf. "And it took two minutes. Doesn't that make you think it was too easy?"_

 _"_ _I said be quiet!"_

 _"_ _Perry!" Rolf grabbed Perry's arm. "You're going to get us all killed!"_

 _"_ _Get the hell off me!"_

 _All of a sudden, Kiki came running towards them, followed by Gypsy. Perry turned on her, ready to tell her off for leaving her post, but Kiki spoke before he could: "Perry, the guards are loading the chemical bomb onto a truck!"_

 _"_ _W-What?!" Perry stared at her. "Are you sure?"_

 _"_ _We saw them put the bomb into the container," Gypsy explained. "We saw it. The truck is leaving."_

 _"_ _Raven is up to something," Kiki said, folding her arms. "She knew we were here. She PROBABLY heard you two idiots arguing from all the way in there!"_

 _She glared at Perry and Rolf, who scowled at each other._

 _"_ _Wendy, go get Jackie and Ohio," Perry ordered her. "The rest of us will get a head start on that truck."_

 _The four animals took off round the plant and out to the back, where they saw the truck just pulling away. Rolf was the first to react. With Perry close behind, he took off running and managed to leap onto the back of the truck. "Stay back!" Perry snapped at him. "Let the agents handle this."_

 _"_ _Considering you're the one responsible for this, I'd say I'm just as much an agent as you are," retorted Rolf, clawing his way up to the roof._

 _"_ _Get down here!" Perry growled and followed him._

 _When they got up to the roof, Perry was annoyed to see Rolf making his way over to the front of the truck. Not wanting to be outperformed by a FIP, the Platypus doggedly followed him. As Rolf raised his paw to smash through the skylight, Perry stopped him. "Are you crazy?!"_

 _Rolf stared at him in surprise. "They're gonna see that we're here any minute, Perry! We have to go in now!"_

 _"_ _Just wait!"_

 _The truck was driving through the forest by now. The other agents were running behind it, the gap between them slowly widening._

 _"_ _Rolf, I said WAIT!" Perry yelled._

 _Rolf growled and clenched his fists, but just then, the truck came to a screeching halt, throwing Rolf and Perry off the roof. Perry landed on his feet easily, snorting quietly when he saw that Rolf had landed on his back._

 _The platypus leapt onto the bonnet and prepared to burst through the windscreen, but that was when he noticed that there was nobody behind the wheel or in the passenger's seat. He frowned. Had the chemical bomb been left behind?_

 _A few seconds later, he got his reply._

 _Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

 _"_ _MOVE!" Perry screamed. "EVERYOBODY RUN!"_

 _A few seconds later, the world almost ended._

…

Perry almost stopped breathing. Gypsy gripped his shoulders worriedly, sensing that something was wrong. "Perry? Are you okay?"

"It was a chemical bomb," Perry croaked, tears beginning to fill his eyes. "And it was all my fault."


	11. Chapter 11

"Your fault?" Gypsy frowned. "What are you talking about, Perry?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Perry croaked.

Gypsy slowly shook her head.

"We were infiltrating Raven Starbird's chemical plant. I kept arguing with Rolf the Raccoon and invalidating his contributions simply because he was an FIP, not an O.W.C.A. agent. I wanted to beat him. So I failed to notice that Raven was luring us into a trap. In fact, I probably set the stupid thing off. The chemical explosion probably caused the tree to fall and Jackie's house to catch on fire. It caused all of our injuries. Jackie could have died, she could have lost the baby, Tammy and Liam could have died, y-you could have died, Kiki could have died…"

"Oh, Perry…" Gypsy had tears in her eyes. "I don't blame you, and neither will anyone else."

"They will when they remember what I did!" Perry sniffled. "I'm a pathetic excuse for an O.W.C.A. agent."

"Yeah you are," snarled a male voice before Gypsy could reply.

Perry looked up in alarm and was shocked to see Rolf the Raccoon crawling in their direction on his hands and knees, his eyes glassy and painful-looking. Gypsy rushed over to him and helped him into a kneeling position. "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

"Ribs," Rolf muttered, his voice betraying the pain he was in. "I can't currently see, either."

Perry inhaled sharply. "Rolf, I-."

"Say another word and I'll cram your tail down your throat!" Rolf snarled, baring his teeth.

Gypsy flinched, while Perry closed his beak and sat back on his haunches.

"I. TOLD. You," growled the raccoon. "But you DIDN'T listen to me! I may not be an O.W.C.A. agent but you had no right to ignore me completely OR tell me to stop! If you hadn't been so damn SELFISH, maybe this wouldn't have happened! That Wendy cat would have DIED if I hadn't gotten to her in time to shield her! Just know that if I permanently lose my eyesight because of this, I WILL take my anger out on you!"

"Rolf, please!" Gypsy cried, distressed at how close her mother had come to not surviving.

"Thanks, Gypsy, but please don't defend me." Perry shoulders slumped defeatedly. "This is all my fault."

Rolf seemed surprised at that. "Seriously? I didn't think you high-and-mighty O.W.C.A. agents were the types to admit your mistakes."

The raccoon was seriously testing Perry's patience, but the platypus just took a deep breath. "When we get back to O.W.C.A., I will inform Major Monogram of your competence and heroism. We reward both at O.W.C.A., and I know the major will make no exception just because you're not an O.W.C.A. agent."

Rolf closed his eyes, and that was when Perry was astonished to notice that the raccoon's cheeks were wet. "No reward will ever be worth losing my eyesight."

"Then let's get you inside," Gypsy said gently. "My mom's a medic; she can help you."

She slung Rolf's arm over her shoulder and lifted the raccoon to his feet. She helped him limp towards the door and, with an apologetic look back at Perry, she took him inside.

Perry lay back on the grass and stared up at the sky, which was turning many pretty colours from the sunset: pink, orange, yellow, blue. It helped him calm down a little, though he was still distressed about what he had done. Had he really been so prejudiced against Rolf, a former street animal, that he had completely invalidated him? It didn't seem like the kind of thing Perry would do, but at the same time, he remembered his exact thoughts from the time: _He's a street animal, an unpunished thief._ He should have put that aside for the sake of the mission. Maybe if he had, this wouldn't have happened.

Just then, he heard a rustle in the bushes and sat up sharply, but relaxed when he saw the pink rabbit and white rabbit come through. "Hey, look, there's Perry!" the pink rabbit said, pointing. "I guess this is the right place."

"Yes it is, Lois." The older rabbit placed a hand on the other's shoulder, keeping her eyes fixed on Perry. "Why don't you go inside and see Jackie?"

"Aren't you coming?" Lois asked curiously.

"I'll be in in a minute."

Lois shrugged and headed inside, grinning briefly at Perry as she passed. Perry twisted his hands awkwardly as Jackie's mother came to sit down next to him. "D-Don't you want to see Jackie's new baby?"

"Something tells me you need me more," Lori said pointedly.

Perry shook his head quickly. "No, nothing's wrong. You should go and see your new granddaughter."

"Perry, I'm old enough to be your grandmother and I've known you almost your whole life. I know that you don't allow much to torment you, and you're sitting here trembling and looking like you're about to pass out."

Perry blinked. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Worse. Now spill. I'm great with advice."

Sighing, Perry gave in and told Lori about the mission. "I was such an idiot; I let my prejudices get in the way of the mission, prejudices I shouldn't have even had in the first place. If I had just swallowed my ego and listened to Ro-."

"If, if, if, if," Lori interrupted, raising an eyebrow at him. "The world is full of ifs and buts. What if this went differently? What if I'd listened to this person? There's NO point thinking about that. What's gone is gone, the past is the past. Turn the radio up and then hit the gas, as they say."

"Who says that?"

Lori ignored him. "You can't torture yourself with what MIGHT have been; you can't change that now, no matter what. What you CAN do is focus on what DID happen, and try to move on from it. Make amends with everyone affected so that you can move on. Once you know that everyone has forgiven you, the matter will be at peace."

"But what if some of them don't forgive me?" Perry fretted.

"They will. But even if they don't, you should still rest easy knowing that you have done your part. But don't worry; I have a feeling that the raccoon is the only one who will have difficulties forgiving you. Everyone else already has, I bet."

Perry glanced down at his paws, which were folded in his lap. "I… You're right. Finding closure and moving on is the best thing to do."

Lori grinned. "I wish Jackie accepted my advice as readily as you just did."

"I just...don't know when to start. Do I wait until things have cooled down? Or should I do it now?"

"Whenever you're ready, sweetheart."

Perry hesitated, before reaching out and hugging Lori around the waist like a child. Smiling, Lori hugged him back. "Thanks, Lori."

"No problem, hon."

Breathing in deeply, Perry stood up and announced, "I'm going in now."

"I should, too." Lori also stood up and stretched. "I'd love to see my new grandchild."

Perry waited for Lori to go inside before slowly following her. He was very nervous about what he was about to do, but he knew he had to do it.

I'm ready.


	12. Chapter 12

When he got up to the infirmary, he saw Wendy tending to Rolf on one side of the room while Lori and Lois fawned over baby Mia on the other side. In the middle sat Buddy, Gypsy, and Ohio, all talking quietly. In Ohio's lap lay Liam, who looked to be asleep. There was no sign of Tammy or Socks.

As Perry began walking towards the group in the middle, he heard Rolf say loudly, "No way! I can still walk, AND run! Watch this!"

He turned and watched as Rolf slid off the bed and began running blindly around the room. He stepped to the side to avoid getting hit, wincing when Rolf ran headlong into Lois, knocking both of them over. Perry hid a smile when he saw Rolf begin to apologise profusely, but that smile was quickly knocked off and replaced with astonishment when Lois grabbed Rolf and kissed him full on the lips.

Lori looked like she wanted to tell her off, but as she wasn't actually related to Lois, she had to close her mouth and look away. Buddy, Gypsy, and Ohio were all gaping at the scene, while Jackie just raised an eyebrow and gave a soft snort.

Wendy came to stand by Perry, looking like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "...I was NOT expecting that."

"I don't think anyone was." Perry swallowed. "What do you think-."

Before he could finish the question, Rolf and Lois finally broke apart and just stared at each other. "What…?"

Lois smirked. "Sorry. I tend to act without thinking, and when I see a hot guy, I have to just act."

"It's not a problem for a beautiful girl like you," Rolf replied without missing a beat.

"Oh my god…" Perry groaned quietly.

Wendy giggled softly and placed her paw on Perry's shoulder. "Just let them have this, Perry."

She approached the two of them. "Lois, how about you take Rolf to a room of his own so that he can recover in private."

Lois and Rolf both stared at her, though in the latter's case, it was in her general direction. Then Lois's expression cleared and her smirk returned. "Good idea. C'mon."

"I could take him," Buddy offered, standing up.

Immediately, Gypsy and Ohio reached out and silently pulled him back down, shaking their heads in unison.

Lois helped Rolf to his feet and led him slowly towards the door. "Don't let me bump into anything," Rolf warned, smirking.

"I won't," Lois said, and it was the most sincere thing Perry had ever heard her say.

Everyone in the room watched as the two of them left the room, then they went back to whatever they were doing before as if it hadn't happened.

Perry headed over to see Jackie, who was watching her mother rock baby Mia in her arms. "I remember cradling you like this," Lori whispered, a reminiscent smile on her face. "You were not much bigger than this, and when I held you for the first time…"

"The hell of the pregnancy dissolved away and became meaningless in about three seconds," Jackie finished. "You told me that when I was two years old."

"I can't believe you remember that," laughed Lori. "But yes. My pregnancy WAS hell, especially for a zoo animal. But I'm so glad I had you at the end of it. I always thought "I hope the baby will be worth all this pain", and Jackie, I would go through all of it again if it meant I would get you again at the end of it."

Jackie smiled slowly, an expression that Perry was happy to see. Ever since the incident earlier that month, her confidence had taken a serious hit. She'd been obsessed with a street rabbit, going so far as to arrest her for the tiniest infraction. Then she'd poisoned her, not knowing that the street rabbit was pregnant. After realising what she'd done, she'd rushed to stop the poisoned food from reaching the rabbit in prison, but it was too late. When she'd found out that her prisoner had been pregnant, she was horrified. Luckily, both mother and baby had survived. But ever since then, Jackie never trusted herself or her decisions enough. She had told Perry that she was terrified of making another emotion-biased decision that would have even worse consequences than the incident earlier that month. She also seemed to be more depressed and less happy; to the point that this might have been the first day he'd seen her smile since the incident.

Watching Jackie, Perry was slowly formulating a plan. He went over to each able-bodied person in the room and told them to meet him outside on the grass, then he went to talk to Jackie herself. "I need to say sorry," he said slowly. "I remember what happened on the mission."

"I...I do too," Jackie said, her face creasing into a look of concern. "How are you doing?"

"Not great." Perry sighed. "Because of my stupid mistake, you and your unborn child could have died."

Jackie inhaled sharply and pressed her paw to her mouth. "W-Well, I know a little something about that."

Perry cursed himself internally for the way he worded that. "I...I'm sorry, Jackie. For everything."

Jackie sniffled and slowly bent down to kiss her baby's forehead. "No harm done."

"I made you give birth ten days early," Perry said miserably.

"Well… Look at it this way: you saved me from ten more days of pregnancy. The last few days are always the worst."

Perry managed a laugh, despite himself. "Thanks. I'm glad you're not mad at me."

"Oh, I AM mad. But not for the thing you think." Jackie regarded Perry. "Rolf."

"I know how I treated him was terrible!" Perry growled. "I KNOW that! Looking back, I have absolutely NO idea why I treated him like that!"

"Prejudice," sighed Jackie. "I guess I'm guilty of the exact same thing. Forget I said anything."

"No, you have a right to be mad at me for that." Perry sighed as well. "Just know that I'm going to make it right."

Jackie sat up in bed, her ears pricking. "I'm coming with you."

"HECK no you're not. You have a baby."

"Socks can look after Mia. She'll be staying behind because she's pregnant, right?"

Perry made a face. "Yes...but…"

"I was on that mission, Perry. I deserve to see its closure."

"Alright, alright." Perry sighed. "Just let me find Socks and meet me outside."

Jackie smirked. "Gotcha."


	13. Chapter 13

After Socks had agreed to stay behind and watch Mia, Perry went outside to find everyone gathered on the lawn outside: Gypsy, Wendy, Jackie, Ohio, Buddy, Lori, and even Kiki. The only ones missing-apart from Socks and Mia-were Rolf and Lois, whom nobody had wanted to disturb, and Liam and Tammy.

Perry stood in front of the group, clasping his hands together. "First of all, I need to apologise to you all. For those of you who can't remember or don't know what happened on the mission…" He inhaled deeply. "...I made a lot of stupid mistakes. One of those was not listening to Rolf, just because he's not an O.W.C.A. agent. Except, on this mission, he was a lot more of an O.W.C.A. agent than I was. It's because of me that you all got hurt and some of you could have died. I'm really sorry."

To his relief, nobody was glaring at him. Gypsy was giving him a look full of love and compassion, while the others generally looked like they had accepted his apology. Lori was giving him a grin and a thumbs up, while Buddy looked sympathetic. Even Kiki was half-smiling. He felt glad that she had forgiven him. Out of the whole group, apart from Rolf, she was the one he had been most worried wouldn't forgive him.

"Raven Starbird." Perry let out the breath he had been holding. "She's going to pay for what she's done. While most of the incident was my fault, she is the one who set a trap for us. She set us up with that chemical bomb, and now we're going to get her. The bomb we were told about back at O.W.C.A. was fifty times more powerful than the one that went off in that truck, so that means she's hiding the really powerful bomb somewhere else. We're going to get it and get her. She'll be arrested and imprisoned for illegally developing weapons of mass destruction, and the bomb itself will probably go into the care of the S.A.B. or the military. If we work together, I know we can do it. That's a little cheesy, but it's true. What do you say?"

"We're with you, Perry!" Gypsy grinned and held up her fist.

The others gradually made the gesture as well, too Perry's relief. "Then let's-."

"Code Blue!" Socks's voice yelled suddenly from inside. "CODE BLUE! WENDY!"

The golden-furred cat reacted immediately and sprinted inside. Jackie, clearly thinking it was something to do with one of her children, took off just as quickly, Lori close behind her. Gypsy hurried over to Perry and clutched his arm for comfort. "W-What do you think is wrong?" she asked nervously.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's good."

"Code Blue," Buddy said slowly, before realisation dawned on his face and his mouth fell open. "Oh, no…"

"W-What's Code Blue?" Kiki asked worriedly.

"It…" Buddy swallowed. "It means a patient's heart has stopped."

Perry's own heart froze at that. "What…?! W-Whose…?"

Just then, Lori appeared at the door. Her face was pale and her body was trembling. Everyone immediately gathered around her, close enough to hear the details, but far enough away that she had space to breathe. "What's going on?" Ohio demanded.

"T-Tammy's heart stopped," Lori told them shakily, eliciting audible gasps from everyone assembled. "W-Wendy and Socks are with her now."

"Oh, my gosh," Gypsy gasped, burying her face in Perry's neck. Perry put his arms around his girlfriend, hugging her tightly.

Ohio silently pushed past Lori and ran into the building. Kiki and Buddy exchanged a sad look, as Lori heaved a breath and said, "I'll keep you posted," before heading after Ohio.

Gypsy dissolved into tears. "Sh-She's only t-t-two, Perry!"

"I know, I know." Perry swallowed, before pulling back, taking her paw, and leading her away from the group.

The brown cat sniffled and wiped her eyes. "W-Where are we going?"

"Just over here."

When they were behind the trees, Perry sat down in the grass, and Gypsy joined him. He took her paw and kissed her, then she pushed him backwards gently and lay on top of him, continuing to kiss him. Her tears were drying already, to Perry's relief.

After a few minutes, Gypsy finally rolled off him and onto the grass next to him, resting her head in the crook of Perry's arm. "I love you," she murmured softly.

"I love you too, Gyp. With all my heart."

Gypsy smiled and closed her eyes. "Is it...bad that we're doing this NOW?"

Perry slowly shook his head. "Tammy will be fine. Wendy won't let her go without the fight of the century."

"Yeah, you're right."

Perry looked down at her. The slivers of moonlight seeping through the trees were causing her to appear as if she was glowing. But to Perry's eyes, she WAS glowing. She had never looked so beautiful than she looked that night, and that was saying something. Even if he hadn't planned to ask her right now, he would have decided to.

"Gypsy."

She smiled but didn't open her eyes. "Yeah?"

Perry slowly sat up, causing Gypsy to sit up as well. He sat on his knees in front of her, so she adjusted herself into the same position. "Perry?"

He took her paws and kissed them gently. "I seem to recall you saying you would wait for me and never leave me, isn't that right?"

"Wait for what?" Gypsy asked, confused, before her eyes widened and she inhaled sharply. "N-No…!"

A beam spread over Perry's face. "Gypsy, will you be my mate for life?"

Both Perry and Gypsy expected her to cry. But both of them were surprised when she just grabbed Perry's face and kissed him passionately. Perry held Gypsy's face in his own hands as he closed his eyes, feeling a breeze spiral round them, between them, and above them. And when they opened their eyes and pulled back a little, they saw that millions of fireflies were surrounding them, causing both of them to appear as if they were glowing. Wild roses were blooming in the grass around them and even under their tails and paws.

"I think nature wants you to say yes," Perry murmured softly, smiling.

"Nature won't be disappointed." Gypsy kissed Perry's forehead and nuzzled noses with him. "Because I say yes."

They kissed again, and their world lit up with even more fireflies.

And when they got back to the facility and were greeted with the news that Tammy was now back in a stable condition, their world just got even brighter.


	14. Chapter 14

Perry and Gypsy went up to the private ward down the corridor from the infirmary to see how Tammy was doing. When they entered, they saw Jackie and Liam sitting in a chair by the bed, the latter on the former's lap. Little Tammy was lying in the bed itself, a breathing tube in her mouth. The entire middle of her face, over her nose, was scarred from the fire damage. Her eyes were closed, but she was alive.

"Hey," Perry said softly, getting Jackie's attention. "How is she?"

Jackie cleared her throat. "Better now. Wendy says she should wake up soon."

"Thank goodness," breathed Gypsy, squeezing Perry's paw. "And are YOU okay?"

Jackie swallowed and hugged her sleeping son closer to her. "No. I lost Tammy today, guys. Her heart stopped. For five minutes, she was dead. I thought she was gone forever. Wendy and Socks brought her back, but…" She squeezed her eyes shut and started rocking back and forth. "I thought I was never getting my little girl back."

Perry and Gypsy moved closer to her, both placing their free paw on Jackie's shoulder. "Do you need anything?" Perry asked softly.

"I just need something else to think about, that's all."

Gypsy smiled and let go of Perry's paw so that she could gently pick Liam up. The little rabbit stirred with the motion, but all he did once he had changed arms was to lay his head on Gypsy's shoulder. "How about some good news?"

Jackie nodded. "That would be good. Got any?"

"We certainly do." Perry beamed and patted Jackie's shoulder. "A few minutes ago, I asked Gypsy to be my mate."

Jackie gasped.

"And I said yes," added Gypsy, also beaming.

"I should hope so!" Jackie spluttered, unable to stop grinning. "Are you serious?! You're finally mates?!"

Perry snorted. "No, we're making up the whole thing and in actual fact we actually became mates seven years ago but we didn't tell you because we actually hate you all," he said monotonously.

"Neither of you were even born seven years ago," Jackie snickered.

"Yeah, THAT's the most unrealistic part of what he just said," deadpanned Gypsy.

Jackie started laughing, which delighted both Perry and Gypsy. Jackie hadn't laughed in just under a year, ever since Dennis had left her. Not even her two babies had been able to make her laugh. Now she was laughing like she had never stopped.

"I'm going to find Socks," Perry said eventually, not wanting to disturb Jackie's good mood. "Gyp, why don't you stay here and keep Jackie company?"

Gypsy nodded. "Of course, Perry. See you later."

He leant in and kissed her briefly, before turning and leaving the room.

Initially, he thought the infirmary was deserted when he poked his head in there. But just as he was about to leave, he heard a muted sniffle coming from the room. Frowning and a little concerned, Perry followed the noise until he found Socks knelt behind one of the beds, her face in her hands. She was crying.

"Socks…?"

The black cat made no effort to move or hide her tears. She just placed one hand over her belly, the other over her eyes, and continued to cry.

Perry knelt down in front of her and gently pulled her paw away from her face, revealing her wet amber eyes, in which he looked her directly. "Socks, what's wrong?"

Socks cleared her throat weakly and coughed a couple of times. "I...I wasn't good enough to save that little girl."

"But...Tammy's alive," Perry said confusedly.

"Only because of Wendy. I lost her, Perry. Without Wendy, she would have died. That little two-year-old girl would have died if I was here on my own!" She choked on her tears and her paw joined her other paw on her belly. "I k-kept picturing my own child in her position. A small kitten's heart stopping. And when the mother, Jackie, came in… I felt like I'd failed her. I felt like I'd just lost my own child, seeing her reaction. Wendy saved her, b-because I couldn't."

Socks dissolved into more tears, causing Perry to feel a strong ache in his heart. He shuffled closer and pulled her into a warm hug. Socks rested her head on Perry's shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut. "A-And from fire damage, t-too. I f-felt so guilty. How, if I survived and she didn't...how incredibly unfair that would be."

Perry frowned. "Fire? Socks… Have you been in a fire?"

The black cat nodded weakly. "Buddy and I, before we came here, lived with a middle-aged couple whose children were all grown up and living on their own. I didn't get to live with them very long before…" She let out a few more sobs before composing herself enough to tell the story. "Their neighbour smoked. He came round one evening to ask for something; I don't know what. He s-stepped on my tail and I yowled, giving him a fright. I didn't know it at the time, but that had caused him to drop his still-lit cigarette."

Perry's face creased in sympathy. "Oh, Socks…"

"Th-That night, the fire spread. We all g-got out alive, but the house was completely d-destroyed. I c-couldn't face the guilt s-so I fled. I knew it was a-all my fault. If I h-hadn't-."

"Socks, your tail was stepped on!" Perry rubbed her back soothingly. "That's happened to me before, and I screamed like hellfire had just descended on me! Nobody could possibly blame you for making a noise, especially since you weren't expecting it!"

Socks just sniffled and didn't say anything else.

"Does Buddy know?"

Socks nodded slowly. "I told him just after we reached this place. He followed me, wanting to know why I was running. So I told him everything."

"Did he blame you?"

"...no, but Buddy is incapable of blaming anyone for anything. I know he'd feel differently if our owners had d-died."

"And you haven't moved on from that?"

"No, of course not! I could have killed my owners, Perry!"

Perry hesitated, remembering the advice he had received just a few hours ago. "You can't torture yourself with what MIGHT have been; you can't change that now, no matter what. What you CAN do is focus on what DID happen, and try to move on from it. Make amends with everyone affected so that you can move on. Once you know that everyone has forgiven you, the matter will be at peace."

Socks coughed, before turning her head to look up at Perry. "What?"

"Finding closure and moving on is the best thing to do," Perry said, echoing his earlier words. "Buddy has forgiven you, so you just need to forgive yourself."

The black cat inhaled shakily and let out the breath. "I...I'll try."

"Good." Perry rubbed her back again, before standing up. "Right. I think it's time to finally get this show on the road."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah. It's finally time to take down Raven Starbird."


	15. Chapter 15

" _Alright, we'll split into teams. Wendy, Kiki, and Jackie will sneak in through the underground tunnel system and disable the security system. Ohio, Buddy, Rolf, and Lois will draw the guards away from the facility and distract them for as long as possible, while Gypsy, Lori, and I will sneak inside and get the bomb. As soon as Wendy's team finish with the security system, they will signal Ohio's team to come back and let them through the gate, making sure the guards are on the outside. After that, Wendy Ohio, and Jackie will meet my team by the southernmost chemical tank so we can find the bomb, while the others search for and apprehend Raven Starbird. After that's all done, we can finally go back to O.W.C.A. and hand Raven over to the S.A.B. and the bomb over to the military."_

…

"I'm honoured to be invited along, Perry, but I'm not very skilled," Lori whispered. "I won't be of any help to you."

"You'll be more help than you think," Perry muttered back.

The truth was that Perry was scared. He was terrified of making another bad call and ending the mission in tragedy. That was why he had deliberately chosen Lori and Gypsy to be in the same team as him; neither of them would let him put a foot wrong, especially not Gypsy.

He was also worried about Jackie, so that was why he had put her in a team with Kiki and Wendy. If anything happened to her, Wendy could treat her efficiently while Kiki covered them. He had the utmost trust in both of them. That was also why he had put Jackie in the team that had the least dangerous job. There were hardly any dangers in the underground tunnels, as opposed to distracting armed guards or going to get a chemical bomb from a dangerous ex-princess.

And while Lois had complained of feeling sick before the mission began, he hadn't deemed it necessary to leave her behind.

While they were waiting for the security system to be deactivated by Kiki's team, Ohio's team was busy getting ready to distract the guards. Their distraction had to be planned well; these highly trained guards wouldn't leave their posts for something menial.

"Perry?" whispered Gypsy.

Perry turned to her. They were waiting in some bushes a safe distance away from the factory, but they still felt the need to whisper; it was a quiet night.

"Yeah, Gyp?"

Gypsy swallowed and nervously took his paw. "If we… If all goes well, there's something I want to do."

"Of course. Gyp. Name it."

"I...don't know if this is too fast, but…" Gypsy hesitated and kissed him briefly. "I want to try for a baby."

Perry had not been expecting that, but now that he had heard it, he realised he wanted nothing more. "Yes. So do I."

Gypsy's face broke out into a beam and she hugged him tightly. "If we make it back home, we'll try for a baby."

"Better get ready then, because we WILL make it home." Perry kissed her cheek. "I promise."

"If we do get a baby, could we name it Rissa if it's a girl and Howell if it's a boy?"

"Rissa or Howell? Of course. Any particular reason why?"

Gypsy twisted her paws, a faraway look of sadness coming onto her face. "W-Well… They're the names of my second dimension counterpart's parents."

"Oh…" Perry grimaced sympathetically and took her into his arms, resting his head on the top of hers. "I'm sorry, Gypsy. Of course we can use those names."

"I feel like they were MY parents too, in a way. I know they're not; Wendy is my mother. But when I saw them die in front of me, I…" Her voice cracked. "I felt like I'd just watched my own parents die."

"In a way, you did." Perry started rocking her gently. "You're connected to your counterpart-or, at least, you were. You felt her grief during that moment."

"A few seconds before she, too, died."

Lori glanced over at them from where she was peering through the bushes at the plant. "Not that I don't approve of... _this_...but I think you should save the talking until we get home. You should be keeping watch in my place; I'm not very good at it."

Perry nodded and released Gypsy, who lay down on the grass and closed her eyes. He recognised this: she was meditating and absorbing energy from the soil. She actually seemed to glow a little while she was doing this. Perry found that when she did this, she gained more confidence and ability, so it was a very useful thing for her to do.

Finally, they heard the guards shouting to each other and sounding like they were running away from the bushes. Perry peered out and watched them go running off to his left, pursuing what looked like a bushy brown tail.

 _Rolf,_ Perry thought. _Good luck, guys._

Turning to Lori and Gypsy, he said, "Let's go."

The three of them rushed out of the cover of the bushes and towards the front door. Perry was watching the cameras with a wary eye, but to his relief, they powered down before the animals came in sight of them. The front door was open ever-so slightly, only just wide enough for the three animals to slip through. Dodging the sight of the receptionist, they climbed up the stairs and out onto the metal walkway at the very top of the room. On either side of them were six large chemical containers.

"Keep on your toes, guys," Perry warned his group.

Gypsy opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, several guards came rushing into the room with guns and stopped in the middle of the room. "Up there!" one of them yelled, causing all of them to open fire.

Perry, Gypsy, and Lori took cover, but hardly any bullets could be fired; Ohio's team came flying out of nowhere and took them all down. However, several of the bullets had managed to sever the cables holding up the walkway, causing it to suddenly tip when the three animals stood up. Perry grabbed Gypsy's hand and the metal grating of the floor to stop themselves from slipping off the edge, but Lori wasn't so lucky. She stumbled when the floor tipped, and fell down one of the paths leading to the open chemical container. She managed to grab the floor just as she went over, saving herself, but just barely. She was now hanging freely over the container of acidic chemicals.

"Lori!" Perry gasped.

But he couldn't move to help her. Not without letting go of either Gypsy or the floor, and both of those options would end with one or both of them joining Lori in danger.

"I can't pull myself up!" Lori groaned, her arms beginning to lose strength. She was a zoo animal; she had hardly any upper body strength.

"Just hold on!" Perry yelled.

"Mom!" came a scream.

Perry managed to glance down and spot Jackie standing on the ground, staring up at them in shock and horror. "Mom, hang on!"

"Jack, stay there," Perry heard Ohio call, before the brown platypus began hurtling for the stairs.

"I...can't...hold…" Lori dared not take either of her paws off the walkway, in case her strength failed her completely.

"Kiki!" Perry yelled. "Kiki, take Buddy, Rolf, and Lois, and go find the bomb! We can't waste any more time here!"

His eyes were closed so he didn't know if Kiki was even there. A second later, he heard her yell, "Roger!", so at least she heard him.

All of a sudden, the walkway dipped again. It wasn't a big movement but it was enough for Perry to lose his grip. But before he or Gypsy could fall, Ohio appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his hand, pulling both of them onto a more stable part of the walkway. Then he turned to go and get Lori.

However, Lori's grip had also been weakened by the dip, and she too was forced to let go. Ohio dived for her hand but missed, and could only helplessly watch her fall.

"MOM!" screamed Jackie.

"LORI!"


	16. Chapter 16

All eyes were on Lori, falling as if in slow motion towards the vat of chemicals that would spell a painful demise for her. As if in slow motion, Perry grabbed Ohio's wrist as the brown platypus prepared to dive after his mother-in-law. As if in slow motion, Wendy pulled Jackie aside and pressed the rabbit's head against her chest so that she wouldn't witness what was about to happen. As if in slow motion-

Lori landed on something hard. Metal. She didn't start slowly sinking into a tank of acid. She felt her head hit the metal hard and she knew that the impact had broken her wrist, but she was alive. She was lying on the metal thing, alive.

Wendy gasped as she saw what had happened, causing Jackie to push away from the cat and stare up at the tank. "M-Mom?!"

Lori managed to push herself into a sitting position and looked at what she was lying on. There was now a large sheet of metal over the vat, sealing it off from the world. This was what she had landed on.

"What…?" Perry murmured.

"That is called a lid," came a sardonic voice from somewhere to their right. "And I was the one who put it on the container."

Everyone spun round to find a black-haired woman standing at the very end of the walkway, her hand on a lever that was currently in the 'down' position. "Nobody move, or I will raise the lid again."

With a horrified look, Jackie slowly raised her hands. Perry, meanwhile, bravely took a step towards Raven. "It's over, Raven. Surrender."

Raven Starbird just raised an eyebrow. "Over? I thought animals' brains were small, but this is taking it to the next level."

Gypsy let out a soft hiss beside Perry, who squeezed her hand gently but firmly. "Why do you say that?" he demanded.

"Because, Perry the Platypus, you are in MY plant."

"We have a right to be here," Perry snapped. "You've been illegally developing a WMD."

Raven arched a thin eyebrow. "What exactly is that?"

"You know exactly what it means!" Gypsy snarled suddenly. "Stop playing dumb!"

"Gypsy," hissed Perry.

Raven lifted the lever, causing the metal lid to begin retracting back into the sides of the container. Lori let out a soft gasp of pain as she tried to put weight on her injured wrist, trying to get out of the way.

"STOP!" Jackie screamed desperately.

"Not until the cat apologises," Raven replied coldly.

"I-I'm sorry!" cried Gypsy, tears springing to her eyes. She didn't want to be the reason that Lori died, especially not after believing she was saved. "I'm sorry! Please stop!"

For a few tense seconds, Raven didn't move. Finally, she lowered the lever again. Jackie spring into action and began darting up the ladder on the side of the container.

"A Weapon of Mass Destruction," Perry growled. "That's what you're illegally making here."

"Proof?" Raven said casually. "I don't see any. As it happens, I was just having a bonfire out in my backyard to get rid of some old junk that I happened to come across in my office."

There wasn't a single agent there who didn't gnash their teeth or growl softly at that. It was so frustrating to have come so far, only to be halted in such an infuriating way.

Raven's eyes turned to the tank. Scowling, she lifted the lever again. Several of the animals yelled, "NO!", but by then, Jackie was close enough that she grabbed her mother's hand and managed to drag her off the vat and onto the ladder. Supporting Lori under her arm, Jackie began climbing down the vat.

"Where are your other agents?" Raven demanded.

Perry glared back. "What do you mean?" he asked forcefully.

"I seem to recall seeing a fox and a raccoon last time. I don't see either of them here."

Perry snorted softly. "You're behind the times, aren't you? Do you remember seeing two white rabbits last time?"

Raven's darkened gaze flickered down to Jackie and Lori, who had just reached the floor. She seemed to work it out at that moment. "There are more of you."

At that moment, Kiki the Fox came flying out of the shadows and landed on Raven's back, attacking her ferociously.

"GUARDS!" Raven bellowed, grabbing at her back to try and get Kiki off.

Perry, Gypsy, and Ohio rushed to help the fox, while the others down below began to fight the guards who had come running when Raven called.

"Go help them," Perry told Ohio, pointing down at the ground.

Ohio nodded and changed direction.

Raven managed to throw Kiki off before the other two got to her. Gypsy concentrated hard and tried to bring some plants in, specifically vines, to help her, but she could hardly focus.

Suddenly...

"Mom, I'm ho-."

Everybody froze and stared towards the door. A small teenage boy with black hair was standing there, dressed in a school uniform. He had a backpack on his back and he was carrying several school books. For a moment, he only stared at the scene and the agents and Raven only stared back. Perry was trying to work out who this was. Then he remembered Raven had a husband (named Matthew) and a fifteen-year-old son named Damian. This must be the latter.

Damian blinked a couple of times, before his face settled into a tired expression. "...I'll be in my room."

"Would you like me to help you with your homework, sweetie?" Raven asked, her voice softer than any of the agents had ever heard it before.

Damian slowly shook his head. "No, it's...it's okay; I got it. You just...keep...doing what you're...doing."

He slowly began walking across the metal walkway, stepping around Ohio and over Kiki before ducking under his mother's fist and heading over to the door on the other side. He paused, looked back, and opened his mouth to say something, before apparently thinking better of it and leaving the room.

As soon as the door closed, the fight resumed as if it had never stopped.

Finally, Gypsy managed to concentrate her powers enough to grow vines up all the way from the ground, through the metal floor, and anchored Raven's feet to the floor. She growled and twisted her body, trying to free her legs to no avail.

"Raven Starbird, I'm arresting you for-," Perry began.

"Building an entirely legal weapon?" came a familiar male voice. "I think not."

Perry, the only one of the group to recognise the voice, gnashed his teeth together. _Don't you dare…!_

Out of the shadows walked a blonde-haired man in a dusty grey suit. He seemed to be about the same age as Raven, who had begun smirking as soon as she heard his voice.

"I'm sure you know my lawyer: Nolan Connelly," she said coolly.

 _Lawyer, shareholder, billionaire,_ thought Perry in frustration. _Everything that makes him one of the most irritating people on Earth._

Nolan pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and flashed it at Perry, showing him both sides in rapid succession. "You said earlier that the making of the bomb was illegal. Well, you're wrong. I have right here a permit, in fact, an ORDER, to manufacture and release one bomb made out of Aziroazide azide-."

"They know what it's made out of, Nolan, just get on with it," Raven sighed, rolling her eyes.

Nolan put away the "permit" as quickly as he had pulled it out, before Perry could get a good look at it. He cleared his throat. "Ahem. Anyway, since the permit is legitimate and Raven ISN'T building an illegal weapon of mass destruction, you lot are trespassing. So you little animals need to go back to the forest before SHE has YOU arrested."

"You can't be serious," Perry snapped.

Nolan raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm joking? I hope you remember that I can make life very difficult for a dear friend of yours, so I'd mind my manners if I were you."

"Dear friend?" Perry narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh!" Nolan grinned. "Cynthia Ross hasn't told you?"

"Her name is Cynthia Whittaker," snarled Perry automatically. "Told me what?"

"My guess is that you should ask her," Nolan said. "Now-."

"Now tell that rat of yours to get these vines off me and then get out of my plant before I call the police!" Raven interrupted in a growl.

"RAT!?" Gypsy yelled, outraged.

She clenched her fists, and the vines began tightening around Raven's ankles. The woman let out a screech of pain and almost fell over backwards.

"Keep doing that, and you'll be arrested and charged with assault," Nolan said casually.

"Gypsy, stop!" Perry begged his mate.

"I. AM. NOT. A. RAT," Gypsy spat, making her vines disappear into the ground with a loud bang.

Raven massaged her ankles, glaring at Gypsy. "Get. Out."

Perry slowly went to the side of the walkway and called, "Everyone, meet outside in the bushes."

The animals, while not looking very happy, reluctantly began making their way out of the plant. Perry looked back at Raven and Nolan, who were smugly talking together, and narrowed his eyes. "Coming, Perry?" Gypsy asked, her tail swishing violently out of anger.

Perry nodded slowly. "I'm coming."


	17. Chapter 17

It had been two days since the attack. After they'd gotten home, they'd all gone into the facility to recover. Lori had been treated by Wendy and Socks, and was recovering very well. Lois and Rolf had entered a relationship. Tammy's face was still disfigured a little, but the longer people were around her, the less they noticed it.

Now, Perry and Gypsy were sitting outside on the grass.

"That permit was fake, wasn't it?" asked Gypsy hesitantly.

"Of course it was," Perry growled. "That sneaky…" He let out another growl and punched the air with his fist. "We had her! We… We HAD her!"

"Easy, Perry," said Jackie, coming out of the facility with baby Mia in her arms. "There's nothing we can do about it now."

Perry let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Gypsy reached out and rubbed his back soothingly. "It's okay, Perry. We'll get her next time."

"We need to get Nolan," argued Perry. "We NEED to find something on him. Otherwise, he'll always turn up to clear his clients and we won't get any arrests!"

Gypsy paused, before scooting behind him and starting to massage his shoulders and back. Perry fell silent, enjoying the feeling. Jackie grinned and sat down next to them.

"Have you heard the good news?" she asked.

Perry and Gypsy shook their heads.

"Lois is pregnant."

The two of them froze, before exchanging a very slow glance with their eyes wide. "Run that by me one more time?" Perry said slowly.

Jackie burst out laughing, rocking Mia gently in her arms. "Lois is pregnant. Rolf's the father."

"Oh, my gosh," Gypsy breathed. "So soon…? How… How do you feel about this, Jack?"

"They're happy, so I'm happy," Jackie said firmly, her eyes daring Perry or Gypsy to argue. Neither of them did, so Jackie stood up again. "I'm going to see my mom. See you guys later."

Gypsy glanced down at the ground as Perry watched Jackie go inside. "Wow, they're really moving fast, aren't they?" commented Perry. "I mean, they've only known each other for-."

"I'm pregnant," Gypsy burst out suddenly.

Perry stopped dead, his eyes widening. "W-What?!"

"I felt sick this morning so I went to see Mom," Gypsy babbled. "She did a few scans and confirmed it. It looks like it'll only be one baby and she doesn't know the gender yet but it'll be due sometime in September and-."

Perry interrupted her by pulling her closer and kissing her lovingly. Gypsy felt herself smile as she closed her eyes, snaking her arms around his back. She felt one of his arms go behind her own back, and his other paw touched her stomach. "I think I can feel it," he whispered after they broke apart. "Is it moving?"

Gypsy giggled softly. "I think so. I think I can feel it."

"It's amazing…!"

"It really is." Gypsy beamed. "Hey, weren't you going to visit Cynthia right about now?"

"Yes, but now you're definitely coming with me."

"Really?" Gypsy pulled back in surprise. "I get to meet your friend?"

"Of course, Gyp. It's about time I introduced you two, anyway."

Gypsy smiled and kissed him gently. "I can't wait."

…

The platypus and the cat stopped outside Cynthia's house. It was a cute little cottage in downtown Danville, less than a quarter of a mile away from her plant, which they had passed on the way there.

"Why are we here, again?" Gypsy asked, after Perry knocked on the door.

"I want to ask her about her involvement with Nolan Connelly. He mentioned her name back on the mission; from what it sounded like, he has some kind of hold on her. I'm a little worried about her."

At that moment, the door opened and Cynthia Whittaker appeared, carrying her three-year-old daughter on her hip. She looked tired and dishevelled and as if she wasn't taking care of herself properly. But her eyes lit up when she spotted them. "Hey, Perry. Long time no see."

"You haven't had to come in for any surgeries recently, so yeah," Perry said, grinning. "How are you?"

"Crystal's keeping me up," Cynthia replied, jiggling her daughter on her knee. "Otherwise, I can't complain. You?"

"Let me introduce you to my mate," Perry replied, leading Gypsy forwards a bit. "Cynthia, Gypsy. Gypsy, Cynthia."

"Hi," Gypsy said shyly.

Cynthia nodded back. "Nice to meet you."

"She's currently carrying our child, as I found out this afternoon," Perry said proudly.

His friend's eyes widened. "Really? Congratulations, Perry. And you too, Gypsy."

"Thanks, but that isn't why we're here." Perry's grin fell and he scrutinised his friend carefully. "We want to talk to you about Nolan Connelly."

Cynthia hesitated, her eyes beginning to shift to the side. "What in particular?"

Perry explained what had happened at the plant.

"Ah." Cynthia nodded. "He has a share in Raven Starbird's plant; that's why he's so obsessed with it. He also has a share in my plant."

"He does?" Perry stared at her in surprise. "How?"

Cynthia shrugged. "I don't know. He already had a share by the time I took the place over from Darren." Her eyes glazed over briefly at the mention of her deceased husband, before she shook her head to clear it and added, "He doesn't have as much of a share in my plant as he does in Raven Starbird's, but he can still make my business life a misery."

"That makes sense," sighed Perry. "Alright, thanks."

He turned to go, but Cynthia reached out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him. He turned back to her, frowning. "Is everything okay?"

"Um…" Cynthia hesitated. "I think it's time I gave you something."

Perry blinked in surprise and exchanged a confused look with Gypsy. "Alright…"

Cynthia let go of Perry and disappeared into her house. Perry and Gypsy sidled together and took each other's paw. A few minutes later, Cynthia came back to the door alone, holding a large envelope, which she gave to Perry. "Look through this. A friend of yours gave it to me to give to you when I thought you were ready. You're ready."

With that, she disappeared inside and closed the door.

Perry desperately wanted to open the envelope here and now, but he forced himself to go back to Danville Forest with Gypsy so that there was a certain element of privacy. Once there, the two of them sat down under a tree as Perry opened the envelope. Inside, he found a file.

A file with the names _Pearl the Platypus – Patrick the Platypus_ on it.

"My… My mom and dad," whispered Perry in shock.

Gypsy watched anxiously as he slowly opened the file and began to read it. She twisted her paws and tried not to read over his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Perry inhaled sharply and clapped his paw over his mouth, his eyes beginning to glisten. "O-Oh my g-g-g-gosh…!"

"Perry?" Gypsy swallowed, placing her paw on Perry's shoulder. "Is… Is everything okay?"

Perry could hardly move. His eyes were frozen on that one sentence out of seven that had captured his attention:

 _Agent Pearl and Agent Patrick disappeared while under deep cover in a L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. facility in Canada._

"My…parents…" Perry croaked.

"What about them…?"

"They're…alive."


End file.
